What are the important events that happened on January 8? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
January 8: Facts & Myths About This Day
January 8 is the 8th day of the year 2022 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 357 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Saturday.
Under the Julian calendar, this day is December 26, 2021 – a Saturday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?
When this day started, 1,641,600,000 seconds has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.
Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘octagon’ day.
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Capricorn is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Garnet is the modern birthstone for this month. Emerald is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.
According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 24 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.
The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 3,305 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.
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January 8 Historical Events
- 871 –Alfred the Great leads a West Saxon army to repel an invasion by Danelaw Vikings.
- 1297 –François Grimaldi, disguised as monk, leads his men to capture the fortress protecting the Rock of Monaco, establishing his family as the rulers of Monaco.
- 1734 –Premiere performance of George Frideric Handel’s Ariodante at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
- 1838 –Alfred Vail demonstrates a telegraph system using dots and dashes (this is the forerunner of Morse code).
- 1867 –African American men are granted the right to vote in Washington, D.C.
- 1904 –The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library system.
- 1918 –President Woodrow Wilson announces his “Fourteen Points” for the aftermath of World War I.
- 1989 –The Kegworth air disaster. British Midland flight 92 crashes into the M1 motorway killing 47 people out of 127 on board.
- 1994 –Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov on Soyuz TM-18 leaves for Mir. He would stay on the space station until March 22, 1995, for a record 437 days in space.
- 2011 –An attempted assassination of Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and subsequent shooting in Casas Adobes, Arizona at a Safeway grocery store kills 6 people and wounds 13, including Giffords.
Who were born on January 8?
- 1908 –William Hartnell, British actor (d. 1975)
- 1911 –Tom Delaney, British racing driver (d. 2006)
- 1912 –Lawrence E. Walsh, American jurist and 4th United States Deputy Attorney General
- 1922 –Abbey Simon, American pianist
- 1924 –Ron Moody, English actor
- 1928 –Slade Gorton, American politician
- 1934 –Alexandra Ripley, American writer (d. 2004)
- 1942 –Stephen Hawking, English theoretical physicist and author
- 1966 –Igor Vyazmikin, Russian ice hockey player (d. 2009)
- 1991 –Asuka Hinoi, Japanese singer
Who died on January 8?
- 307 –Jin Huidi, Chinese emperor of the Jin Dynasty (b. 259)
- 1324 –Marco Polo, Italian explorer (b. 1254)
- 1570 –Philibert de l'Orme, French architect (b. c. 1510)
- 1916 –Rembrandt Bugatti, Italian sculptor (b. 1884)
- 1934 –Serge Stavisky, French financier and embezzler (b. 1886)
- 1976 –Robert Forgan, British fascist (b. 1891)
- 1991 –Steve Clark, English guitarist (Def Leppard) (b. 1960)
- 2007 –David Ervine, Northern Irish politician (b. 1953)
- 2007 –Yvonne De Carlo, Canadian-born actress (b. 1922)
- 2008 –George Moore, Australian champion jockey (b. 1923)
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